Chapter 11 The Lioness
In the evening, we hid in the bushes downwind to film lions.
Instead, we saw a young lioness with two cubs.
Qin Xiao whispered, "Her mate died last month defending the territory. She left her pride to protect the cubs."
The cubs played nearby, unaware of danger.
Hyenas approached. It was too late to flee.
The lioness arched her back, fur raised, shielding the cubs with her body.
She charged and bit at every hyena that came near.
Blood stained her fur.
My heart raced.
The hyenas gave up and left.
She limped back to the rocks and licked her cubs gently. Her fierce eyes softened.
Tears suddenly filled my eyes.
Qin Xiao handed me a tissue. "Scared?"
I shook my head. "I thought of my parents."
After learning the truth, I searched for my birth parents.
In the crash photo, they shielded Qiao Yining.
She survived with minor injuries. They didn't.
Their love was what I always wanted but never had.
Today, I saw it again in the lioness.
The sun set.
I wiped my tears and raised the camera toward the lioness licking her wounds and the sleeping cubs.
I had taken many photos but none for the exhibition.
As I pressed the shutter, "New Life" came to mind.
I would return with this photo.